text | Gao Baobao
A huge luxury ship is moored at the Hong Kong Typhoon Shelter Port. This giant luxury cruise ship has an area of 45,000 square feet and can accommodate more than 2,300 people at the same time.
It is the world's largest sea restaurant - Hong Kong Jumbo Seafood Restaurant.
The interior decoration of Jumbo Seafood Restaurant is magnificent, just like a palace. Over the past 46 years, it has received more than 30 million diners, including Queen Elizabeth II, international superstars, Yul Brynner, William Holden, Tom Cruise, etc. Dignitaries and celebrities from various countries.
Jumbo Seafood Restaurant is also the filming location for many well-known movies, such as "Infernal Affairs 2", "God of Cookery", the 007 series "The Man with the Golden Gun", "Enter the Dragon" starring Bruce Lee and so on. Even the scenes of the famous video games " Hungry Wolf 2" and "Resident Evil 6" are all taken from here.
html Over the past 246 years, it has witnessed the changes in Hong Kong from a small fishing village to an international city, and also recorded the city's joys, sorrows, joys and sorrows, as well as the rise and fall of honor and disgrace. It is a business card for the world to know Hong Kong and even China.
However, just 6 days ago, on June 18, 2022, this super ship, which carries the collective memories of two generations of Hong Kong people, unexpectedly sank to a depth of 1,000 meters.
is really a pity.
What happened is this:
Due to the epidemic, Jumbo Seafood Restaurant has been closed for more than two years. Aberdeen Restaurant Group officially moved it out of Hong Kong on June 14 and headed to Southeast Asia for repairs. However, on the afternoon of the 18th, while sailing to the waters near the Paracel Islands, we suddenly encountered wind and waves, causing water to enter the hull.
Although the tugboat company responsible for the voyage tried its best to rescue it, the giant ship finally sank on the seabed of South China at a depth of 1,000 meters.
No one expected that the magnificent super-luxury ship would eventually say goodbye to the people who loved it, the city, and its former glory in such a way.
In the 1930s, there were no restaurants or restaurants in Aberdeen. Therefore, many water people who immigrated to Hong Kong from Guangzhou started running "singing halls" in Aberdeen.
The singing hall is not only about eating and drinking, but also about acting and singing. At first, only wealthy people from the water would visit, and reservations were required.
Later, as more and more customers came, the song hall was renovated and turned into a tall seafood restaurant.
In the 1850s, there were more than a dozen seafood restaurants in the typhoon shelter in Aberdeen, and the seafood restaurant business reached its peak. Every night after dark, the typhoon shelter will be brightly lit, and there will be an endless flow of people coming to dine and have fun, most of whom are rich or noble.
At that time, the largest one was Taibai Seafood Restaurant.
In order to stand out among the many seafood restaurants, the owner of Taibai Seafood Restaurant rebuilt the largest seafood restaurant in Hong Kong, which is Jumbo Seafood Restaurant .
But no one expected that in 1971, before this luxury seafood restaurant had time to open, a fire broke out.
The fire burned for more than 10 hours before it was extinguished. Not only did the seafood restaurant itself suffer serious damage, but it also affected many nearby fishing boats, resulting in a tragedy of 34 deaths and 42 injuries.
Later, two wealthy Hong Kong businessmen, Stanley Ho and Cheng Yu-tung , raised a total of HK$30 million, and Jumbo Seafood Restaurant was rebuilt. As a result, the "Jumbo Seafood Restaurant" originally planned to open in 1971 was delayed by 5 years.
According to the requirements of gambling king , the rebuilt Jumbo Seafood Restaurant was built into a magnificent "Palace on the Sea". It is 76 meters long, 22 meters wide and 28 meters high (three floors high), has a displacement of 3,300 tons, an area of 45,000 square feet, and can accommodate more than 2,300 guests at the same time. It is the largest maritime restaurant in the world.
The interior decoration of Jumbo Seafood Restaurant imitates the design of the Chinese palace, with a dragon theme.The decorations and murals alone cost more than 6 million, which is really luxurious.
However, the most eye-catching thing in the seafood restaurant is the dragon chair in the Jinluan Palace . This dragon chair was built manually and took two full years.
Jumbo Seafood Restaurant’s giant seafood pool raises more than 60 kinds of seafood and has the largest ultraviolet seawater disinfection system in Hong Kong.
And its kitchen is set up on another ship. At the same time, it also owns a sewage treatment ship that costs 18 million and is the largest in Southeast Asia.
This top-of-the-line seafood restaurant attracted all the dignitaries in Hong Kong at that time. Being able to hold a banquet at Zhenbao has become a status symbol.
For the next 43 years, Jumbo Seafood Restaurant has been standing in Aberdeen Typhoon Shelter and has become an integral part of Hong Kong culture.
In 2019, due to social turmoil, treasures were greatly affected. In desperation, they laid off more than half of their employees - only 60 of the original 130 people remained. At the same time, business hours have also been shortened.
However, one wave has come after another. The subsequent epidemic forced it to close its doors. However, the annual maintenance cost of millions is a heavy burden for the seafood restaurant.
As a landmark of Hong Kong, the situation of the treasure alarmed the Hong Kong government .
With the intervention of the Hong Kong government, the owner of Jumbo Seafood Restaurant, Aberdeen Restaurant Group, agreed to transfer the seafood restaurant to Ocean Park for free and transform it into an attraction.
To this end, the Hong Kong government also allocated a huge sum of money to Ocean Park - HK$5.4 billion.
However, this matter has been delayed again and again. This delay was delayed until June this year. Jumbo Seafood Restaurant's maritime license expired and it had to leave Hong Kong completely.
Before Jumbo Seafood Restaurant announced its departure from Hong Kong, many Hong Kong people ran nearby to take photos. Some people also wrote on their personal social accounts: Waiting for you to come back!
However, it has not come back and will never come back. Perhaps, it will be abandoned forever in the dark and mysterious deep seabed thousands of miles away.
Perhaps, one day thousands of years from now, archaeologists will discover the remains of a super ship on the seabed near the Paracel Islands. Then after research and verification, it was confirmed that it was the famous Hong Kong Jumbo Seafood Restaurant that sank on June 18, 2022.
By then, no one in the world who had seen this luxurious ship with their own eyes would be gone. Our descendants can only see its beauty, understand its past and present lives, and feel the sorrow and regret of people today through pictures and words.
Someone said: I have heard about Hong Kong Jumbo Seafood Restaurant for a long time, and I thought I would have a chance to visit it in the future, but now I have no chance. Someone said: I went to Zhenbao once a few years ago. Unexpectedly, it was the first and last time. Others said: What a pity. The first time I heard about the world’s largest sea restaurant in Hong Kong was the news about its sinking.
This world is like this. There are some things that we always think about waiting for the opportunity to do, but in the end we never have the chance. There are some places that we always think we will go to again in the future, but when we go again, they are no longer there. Some things, when we hear about them for the first time, are often the last.
can only be cherished.
The decorations and murals alone cost more than 6 million, which is really luxurious.About the author:
wrote novels at the age of 15.
was admitted to the graduate school of the Chinese University of Hong Kong at the age of 38. He has 20 years of experience in Chinese education.
She single-handedly trained her daughter to obtain a first-class honors bachelor's degree from University of Hong Kong and a master's degree in education from
the world's number one Institute of Education, University of London.
Just one year after graduation, the little girl’s annual salary has reached 500,000.
Sister Baobao’s parenting education articles are warm and powerful.
will help you gain clarity and avoid detours on the road to parenting.
WeChat public account: Meet Sister Baobao (ID: gaobaobao-522).
However, the most eye-catching thing in the seafood restaurant is the dragon chair in the Jinluan Palace . This dragon chair was built manually and took two full years.
Jumbo Seafood Restaurant’s giant seafood pool raises more than 60 kinds of seafood and has the largest ultraviolet seawater disinfection system in Hong Kong.
And its kitchen is set up on another ship. At the same time, it also owns a sewage treatment ship that costs 18 million and is the largest in Southeast Asia.
This top-of-the-line seafood restaurant attracted all the dignitaries in Hong Kong at that time. Being able to hold a banquet at Zhenbao has become a status symbol.
For the next 43 years, Jumbo Seafood Restaurant has been standing in Aberdeen Typhoon Shelter and has become an integral part of Hong Kong culture.
In 2019, due to social turmoil, treasures were greatly affected. In desperation, they laid off more than half of their employees - only 60 of the original 130 people remained. At the same time, business hours have also been shortened.
However, one wave has come after another. The subsequent epidemic forced it to close its doors. However, the annual maintenance cost of millions is a heavy burden for the seafood restaurant.
As a landmark of Hong Kong, the situation of the treasure alarmed the Hong Kong government .
With the intervention of the Hong Kong government, the owner of Jumbo Seafood Restaurant, Aberdeen Restaurant Group, agreed to transfer the seafood restaurant to Ocean Park for free and transform it into an attraction.
To this end, the Hong Kong government also allocated a huge sum of money to Ocean Park - HK$5.4 billion.
However, this matter has been delayed again and again. This delay was delayed until June this year. Jumbo Seafood Restaurant's maritime license expired and it had to leave Hong Kong completely.
Before Jumbo Seafood Restaurant announced its departure from Hong Kong, many Hong Kong people ran nearby to take photos. Some people also wrote on their personal social accounts: Waiting for you to come back!
However, it has not come back and will never come back. Perhaps, it will be abandoned forever in the dark and mysterious deep seabed thousands of miles away.
Perhaps, one day thousands of years from now, archaeologists will discover the remains of a super ship on the seabed near the Paracel Islands. Then after research and verification, it was confirmed that it was the famous Hong Kong Jumbo Seafood Restaurant that sank on June 18, 2022.
By then, no one in the world who had seen this luxurious ship with their own eyes would be gone. Our descendants can only see its beauty, understand its past and present lives, and feel the sorrow and regret of people today through pictures and words.
Someone said: I have heard about Hong Kong Jumbo Seafood Restaurant for a long time, and I thought I would have a chance to visit it in the future, but now I have no chance. Someone said: I went to Zhenbao once a few years ago. Unexpectedly, it was the first and last time. Others said: What a pity. The first time I heard about the world’s largest sea restaurant in Hong Kong was the news about its sinking.
This world is like this. There are some things that we always think about waiting for the opportunity to do, but in the end we never have the chance. There are some places that we always think we will go to again in the future, but when we go again, they are no longer there. Some things, when we hear about them for the first time, are often the last.
can only be cherished.
About the author:
wrote novels at the age of 15.
was admitted to the graduate school of the Chinese University of Hong Kong at the age of 38. He has 20 years of experience in Chinese education.
She single-handedly trained her daughter to obtain a first-class honors bachelor's degree from University of Hong Kong and a master's degree in education from
the world's number one Institute of Education, University of London.
Just one year after graduation, the little girl’s annual salary has reached 500,000.
Sister Baobao’s parenting education articles are warm and powerful.
will help you gain clarity and avoid detours on the road to parenting.
WeChat public account: Meet Sister Baobao (ID: gaobaobao-522).
